5 November 2016

The Acorn and the Ivy

Of all my New England photos, this one may be my favourite; who can resist that bokeh backdrop? Even using the word 'bokeh' makes me feel like a very savvy-snapper... we'll just brush over those #behindthefilter shots, where the red flowers looked more like the red dot on Jupiter - or those really creepy eye photos at a retinal screening.

I do love to a good detour, don't I? Perhaps I am trying to delay the inevitable - the grande finale of my New England blog series. Yes, nearly 3 months after my East Coast adventure, this is the end. *hold your breath and count to 10* As cliche as this sounds, I really have saved the best 'till last.

Ft. bookshop bakeries, Elle Woods' alma mater and the most-photographed street in the States, I may also have retraced the steps of a certain Ms Rowling...

JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS PEANUT BUTTER

Trident is the hidden gem of Boston; it was one of my dad's "pre-holiday" discoveries, when he set himself the task of finding "the Sophiest coffee shop of all". With books, berries, PB and all things puppy-love, it's safe to say Trident exceeded all expectations was an OWL Outstanding!

We had breakfast here on both days in Boston, and it's safe to say it was the best of our trip. My food anxieties had slowly built over the holiday, yet the PB and berry combo felt familiar and comforting; life is always peanut better, while there were enough strawberries to see out 2016! Not that I was complaining...

You may have seen my "cup of happy" in earlier blog photos; it was a Trident buy and possibly my favourite souvenir of the trip! I did spend a good 15 minutes deciding which mug to buy, as the dog below was very tempting.

I very nearly got one of the beautiful hardbacks above, but instead picked a copy of Emily Dickinson poetry; at this point she was the subject of dissertation, but I';ve since done a complete U-Turn... I should be a politician!

WHAT, LIKES ITS HARVARD?

I couldn't resist a little nod to Ms Elle Woods, who hails from Harvard Law. Compared to Yale, it didn't quite have the same Hogwarts feeling. That being said, Cambridge (yes, Harvard is based in Cambridge Massachusetts) is a world away from New Haven. It was its own little haven of cute coffee shops, red brick and all the trees. Is it obvious I treeally love them?

Speaking of Hogwarts, Harvard had something Yale can't claim: JK Rowling's footprints. Yes, below I am standing on the spot where my heroine stood, when she made her commencement speech to graduates. I have a copy of her speech, "very good lives", which is a book you need in your life!

"We don't need magic to change the world, we have all the magic inside ourselves. We have the power to imagine better." My Queen.

SMALL ACORNS AND MIGHTY ELMS

Mirror mirror on the wall, which street is the most instagrammable of all? Beacon Hill, without a doubt. I mean just look at it: can I move here please? For some random reason it reminded me of the house in Two of a Kind, with 19th century redbrick and roadside trees.Now there's a throwback to a forgotten age, when TV still had integrity...

...a bit like the dreamy cobblestones, gas lamps and treescapes of Beacon Hill! Concrete monstrosities can move over, because this colonial time capsule was right up my *acorn* street. Literally, for nestled behind the hill is the magical and mighty Acorn: 'the most photographed street in the US', according to a reliable source Wikipedia. Let's get that macro setting on,

It's official, we need a national renaming of Streets in the UK; anything with a joyful or woodland theme will be accepted.

TWINKLE AND PERIWINKLE LITLE STAR

Oh Boston. My beautiful Boston. I thought our daytime wanders were serene as can be, then I saw you at sunset... oh Boston, you've put me on the mother of all nostalgia trips right now! It would be the perfect City to own a dog, with the Public Garden on your doorstep. To be honest though, you don't need a dog as reason to re-root! Imagine walking through this each day? Central Park eat your heart out...

It took a good three months of WonderListing/trying it four separate times, before this Topshop midi skirt found my wardrobe. I was worried it was too flouncy and made me look even more like a hobbit, but the Petites section saved the day! Plus, it was simply made to match my periwinkle satchel - the bag of my dreams, in case you missed this from my earlier posts...

So that concludes my New England adventure. I've quite liked revisiting it later on to be honest #perksofprocrastination - makes me all the more determined to go back! Yet I've made a promise to myself that, when I return, I will be properly healthy; there will be no room for anxiety and anorexia in my suitcase. I never want my mental health to overshadow things, but I think it's important to acknowledge that it did impact my trip.

Only then can I also reflect on what I did achieve. Plans changing, eating out 2/3 times a day, bare legs, plane turbulence... I survived. That's the thing with "exposure therapy", you live to tell the tale and you learn from it. Moreover, some things can't ever be tarnished, whether it be FairyYale, Star Ducks, Newport sails or the the beauty of a Boston skyline....